Beer Brats

[Bill Hall]

I am cooking some Johnsonville Beer Brats up tomorrow and wanted to try something different. I usually just cook them indirect on the kettle for like 20 minutes at 350-400 and then hit them direct at the end for a few. I wanted to try to actually cook them in beer. I have heard of people cooking them in beer in a pan until they turn white and then searing at the end or doing the reverse. Does anyone have any tips for this method?

 

[Rich G]

I prefer this method, Bill, and it's easy. Prep your liquid (in this case, beer) in a disposable pan (or other), I like to put some onions in the beer, get it pretty warm on the grill, then drop the brats in. You want it more of a simmer or less, as you are just poaching them up to temp (160 or so), then, after 10-15 minutes, grill them up over direct coals, just to color, and you're done. Of course, you don't want to waste those beer poached onions, so you can pull those and put them on a bun with your sausage if that's your thing.....or just fill a plate with sausages and mustard and go to town!

There's no real limit to how creative you can be with the poaching liquid, just don't cook 'em in there too long.

R

 

[Bill Hall]

I prefer this method, Bill, and it's easy. Prep your liquid (in this case, beer) in a disposable pan (or other), I like to put some onions in the beer, get it pretty warm on the grill, then drop the brats in. You want it more of a simmer or less, as you are just poaching them up to temp (160 or so), then, after 10-15 minutes, grill them up over direct coals, just to color, and you're done. Of course, you don't want to waste those beer poached onions, so you can pull those and put them on a bun with your sausage if that's your thing.....or just fill a plate with sausages and mustard and go to town!

There's no real limit to how creative you can be with the poaching liquid, just don't cook 'em in there too long.

R

Thanks for the tip Rich. That’s pretty much what I had planned. I just didn’t know how long to cook them for. Got another question though. Should the liquid completely cover the sausages or just enough to get them wet?

 

[Rich G]

Bill, assuming you've got your poaching liquids at a good temp (simmer), 10-15 minutes should do it to get the brats cooked through, then you can grill them up. I typically get enough liquid in my pan to cover the sausages, but they will float, so just enough to get them floating will do it. Depending on the size of your pan, that's probably a couple of beers, and then water or stock to cover as needed. You will love it!

R

 

[Bruno]

Must try!

 

[LMichaels]

Yep a nice simmer in beer. No need to waste good drinking beer on this part BTW. Any rotgut like Budweiser or such will do here. Save the good beer for washing down the brats

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

Pan-Fried Beer and Onion Bratwurst - Craving Tasty

A step by step on how to cook brats on the stove. A simple yet very effective recipe that results in super flavorful and juicy bratwurst.

cravingtasty.com

This is the method that I've been using and I just started a few months ago. I don't even bother with the beer and onions most of the time. I sear them in cast iron with butter and then cover the pan and they come out delicious. I hate to say it, but I had been cooking them on the gas grill and this method beats the hell out of that. Indirect on the kettle with some smoke is pretty damn good too, though.

 

[Rich Dahl]

I use beer, enough to float them, add onion and bell pepper. Cook them with enough heat to simmer and when they hit 160 take them out and cook on direct heat to brown them. Use the veggies to cover and add some flavor when placing them on your grilled buns.
Good Stuff!

 

[J Hasselberger]

Having done most of the above, I have to say that my favorite is smoking them on the WSM for an hour or so (150° internal). It's too much of a pain to fire up the smoker just for some brats, but if you toss them on while your doing bigger hunk of meat. Nice little snack while you're cooking the main meal. Try them with some Dussedorf mustard rolled in a flour tortilla along with sauerkraut (with some shredded carrot and cinnamon added to the kraut). Mmmm.

Jeff

 

[Bill Hall]

Yep a nice simmer in beer. No need to waste good drinking beer on this part BTW. Any rotgut like Budweiser or such will do here. Save the good beer for washing down the brats

Yep, went out and bought some Miller Lite just for the occasion.

 

[Bill Hall]

Pan-Fried Beer and Onion Bratwurst - Craving Tasty

A step by step on how to cook brats on the stove. A simple yet very effective recipe that results in super flavorful and juicy bratwurst.

cravingtasty.com

This is the method that I've been using and I just started a few months ago. I don't even bother with the beer and onions most of the time. I sear them in cast iron with butter and then cover the pan and they come out delicious. I hate to say it, but I had been cooking them on the gas grill and this method beats the hell out of that. Indirect on the kettle with some smoke is pretty damn good too, though.

That looks good too. I'll have to save this method for a rainy day when I can't grill.

 

[Bill Hall]

Having done most of the above, I have to say that my favorite is smoking them on the WSM for an hour or so (150° internal). It's too much of a pain to fire up the smoker just for some brats, but if you toss them on while your doing bigger hunk of meat. Nice little snack while you're cooking the main meal. Try them with some Dussedorf mustard rolled in a flour tortilla along with sauerkraut (with some shredded carrot and cinnamon added to the kraut). Mmmm.

Jeff

I actually tried smoking them a couple of months ago and they did turn out really well. I noticed the casing was a little hard to bite through, but the taste was awesome.

 

[timothy]

Last time I used apple juice and sliced apples, onions ( beer supply was low) I cooked them first to get some color, then put em in the brat-tub.
Oh I also rubbed them ( put em in a ziploc bag, like shake and bake, add rub, shake)
I liked em a lot.

Tim

 

[Bill Hall]

I ended up simmering them in a beer, butter, and onion mixture for about 20 minutes. When they hit 155 I seared them up and threw them on a toasted bun. They turned out really good. It made the casing have excellent bite through and was nice and juicy inside still. I will definitely be doing this again. Thanks for all the ideas and help.

 

[JeffG]

Like it Bill

The usual, might have to try it the other way around....

 

[Bill Hall]

Last time I used apple juice and sliced apples, onions ( beer supply was low) I cooked them first to get some color, then put em in the brat-tub.
Oh I also rubbed them ( put em in a ziploc bag, like shake and bake, add rub, shake)
I liked em a lot.

Tim

I have a buddy from Wisconsin that considers it blasphemy not to grill then bath in beer to keep warm. I'll have to try it in reverse next time.

 

[Robert McGee]

Bill;
Those brats look excellent!

My method is similar but a bit different:

Poached Beer Brats on the Performer

We were at Costco today and noticed a VERY nice looking package of Johnsonville Fresh Brats so we brought it home. I decided to Poach the brats in beer like in this recipe: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/05/grilled-bratwurst-with-beer-mustard-and-sauerkraut-recipe.html I set up my...

tvwbb.com

Keep on smokin',
Dale53

 

[Bill Hall]

Bill;
Those brats look excellent!

My method is similar but a bit different:

Poached Beer Brats on the Performer

We were at Costco today and noticed a VERY nice looking package of Johnsonville Fresh Brats so we brought it home. I decided to Poach the brats in beer like in this recipe: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/05/grilled-bratwurst-with-beer-mustard-and-sauerkraut-recipe.html I set up my...

tvwbb.com

Keep on smokin',
Dale53

Thanks Robert, yours looked excellent as well. If I don’t cook them reverse next time, I’m definitely going to put them back in the liquid to serve like you did.

 

[Robert Dilbert]

hmm...seems like there are 2 methods. i am curious as to which one is superior.
- grill brats, place in liquid to finish
- cook brats in liquid, grill to finish.

seems like the diehards insist on the post grill soak:

A Debate of Grilling Bratwurst

Do you soak ’em in hot beer or not?

www.memphisflyer.com

Beer Brat Success = Grill First, Then Boil

When I first moved to Chicago from North Carolina, I was amazed at the variety of sausages. There were polish sausages, bratwurst, bockwurst, Italian; sweet and hot, among others. At that time, the sausage that I knew best was knackwurst which is smoked like a hot dog, only thicker and made from...

www.theintelligencer.net

 

[LMichaels]

Yep simmer first. I don't bother putting butter in the beer. No need for more fat. But some cheap beer, onions and a nice gentle simmer on the grill. Once cooked if not eaten right away they go back to the warm beer/onion mix. I think that's what the WI friend was talking about.